tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post3688981296477808274..comments2017-08-16T20:24:47.905-07:00Comments on Raising Matt Cain: Giants Lose to Sick PitcherM.C. O'Connorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-33509469419856070632013-08-30T19:03:29.853-07:002013-08-30T19:03:29.853-07:00You can&#39;t evaluate a #2 hitter by using RBIs. ...You can&#39;t evaluate a #2 hitter by using RBIs. The man&#39;s job is to get on base, and he does that pretty damn well. Would I have a problem with Jacoby Ellsbury? Hell no, he&#39;s a stud. But c&#39;mon, RBIs? Really?<br /><br />Just tonight, Belt got the RBI on a SF after Scutaro moved Pagan to third. Does that fact that Belt got the RBI negate Scutaro&#39;s contribution to the run? Of course not. Unless you are a 3-4-5 hitter with lots of chances, RBIs are stupid. Just like ERAa for relievers. Or &quot;wins&quot; for that matter. Scutaro has his weaknesses, that&#39;s not an argument. But making fewer outs than most guys in the lineup is a good thing.<br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-38737431344131441422013-08-30T12:04:31.260-07:002013-08-30T12:04:31.260-07:00Marco Scutaro, 2013 - 27 RBI&#39;s in 441 AB&#39;s...Marco Scutaro, 2013 - 27 RBI&#39;s in 441 AB&#39;s batting mostly 2nd in the lineup.<br /><br />Matt Cain, Career - 26 RBI&#39;s in 501 AB&#39;s batting 9th in the lineup.<br /><br />Pretty similar run production.<br /><br />To be clear, I like Marco Scutaro, &amp; he can help the Giants in a lot of ways, even as a non-starter. If we can&#39;t get a Superstar 2B, then, I&#39;m fine w/ Scutaro being the starter. But, think about having both Scutaro &amp; Arias as veteran bench players, backing up Superstar 2B, Crawford, &amp; Sandoval, plus pinch-hitting.Ronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-32077782647544965942013-08-30T10:22:00.686-07:002013-08-30T10:22:00.686-07:00Scutaro will be starting at 2B. I&#39;m in with t...Scutaro will be starting at 2B. I&#39;m in with the Ellsbury idea, though. Belt has been on a tear since his re-education. If he can put together a next year at half-way in between his prior performance and his current performance (ba about .370), it would be huge.Zonoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-7662662350644971212013-08-30T08:53:45.059-07:002013-08-30T08:53:45.059-07:00This is what I really want to see as the 2014 SF G...This is what I really want to see as the 2014 SF Giants&#39; Opening Day Roster:<br /><br />Pagan, CF<br />Ellsbury, RF<br />Posey, C<br />Cano, 2B<br />Pence, LF<br />Sandoval, 3B<br />Belt, 1B<br />Crawford, SS<br />Cain, P<br /><br />Scutaro &amp; Arias, Utility IF<br />Blanco &amp; Peguero, Utility OF<br />Sanchez, Back-Up C<br /><br />Bumgarner, Lincecum, Vogelsong, Gaudin, Other Starters<br /><br />Romo, Lopez, Affeldt, Casilla, Rosario, Mijares, rejuvenated Kontos, Relief Pitchers<br /><br />You ask &#39;How can we afford both Ellsbury &amp; Cano?&#39;. Good question. OK - how about Cano plus some power-hitting LF guy who isn&#39;t quite as good as Ellsbury?<br /><br />Isn&#39;t it about time that the Giants starting spending some of that stockpile of cash at their disposal? While they&#39;re at it, they can give all of their low wage employees a 100% raise to make up for stiffing them over the last few years. What an embarrassment that is for the franchise.Ronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-55549982541492426252013-08-29T19:02:00.456-07:002013-08-29T19:02:00.456-07:00It&#39;s weird how good play and bad play seem con...It&#39;s weird how good play and bad play seem contagious. You get a couple of guys on a roll--either way--and other guys follow suit.<br /><br />I think the Giants are in a good position for 2014. If Sandoval can stay slimmed down like he is now, he could provide a huge lift. BCraw will have some more ML time on his resume and we&#39;ll see a drop in errors. Pagan and Vogie will be healthy. Cain getting hurt is a blessing in disguise--he needs time off is he is to bounce back. Posey&#39;s workload needs to be cut the rest of the way, too. I like the growth I see from Belt. He&#39;ll be a big contributor.<br /><br />The team needs another front-line starter and a left fielder with some &quot;brawn.&quot; I&#39;d like see them re-sign Pence. And they need to go big on the FA market. They have the money to spend and LA&#39;s payroll changes the dynamic in the West.<br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-39851639047475137982013-08-29T14:06:53.301-07:002013-08-29T14:06:53.301-07:00Biggest difference between this year &amp; last ye...Biggest difference between this year &amp; last year (&amp; biggest disappointment): crappy defense. It all starts to unravel from there. We had several consecutive years of relying upon good-to-great defense - given that our personnel was virtually unchanged, that decline has been inexplicable &amp; shocking.Ronnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-28458439118196948432013-08-29T11:09:24.958-07:002013-08-29T11:09:24.958-07:00This team has decided to Cain Bumgarner. Crawford...This team has decided to Cain Bumgarner. Crawford&#39;s errors always seem to cost us the gamenomisnalahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08297640472949764321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-79063104844216693782013-08-29T08:33:56.246-07:002013-08-29T08:33:56.246-07:00Here&#39;s my scouting report on the Fresno Grizzl...Here&#39;s my scouting report on the Fresno Grizzlies from last night&#39;s game:<br />Pagan had a mixed night. He led off the game with a bloop single over the second baseman and eventually came around to score. In his next appearance he drew a walk. That&#39;s it for the positives. In the 5th he couldn&#39;t hang on to a hard liner which came right over him. It was a tough one. First he looked over his right shoulder as he ran toward the fence, then he turned to his left. The ball ,hit his glove but fell out. This ended up leading to 2 runs (unearned for pitcher Mitch Lively, who pitched 5 innings, 2 hits, 3 BB 5 SO). Later Pagan struck out with men on 1st and 3rd with 2 outs. So that kind of performance will help him fit right back in with our 2013 SF Giants. Pagan only played 6 innings.<br />The other Griz I had my eye on was Gary Brown. He went 0 for 4 but at least he put the ball in play, with no strikeouts. His 1st AB he smoked a hard liner that the CF made a good play on. I didn&#39;t notice any special plays from him in the outfield.<br />Erstwhile Giants Tanaka and Noonan did okay, the former with 2 singles, the latter with one.Brother Bobhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18162500140573910451noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7941261488380355005.post-42573165793173602712013-08-29T06:14:36.320-07:002013-08-29T06:14:36.320-07:00All those long days and frigid nights in the LF bl...All those long days and frigid nights in the LF bleachers at Candlestone got us believing the franchise was cursed. Then, they re-booted for the new century, and won three pennants and two titles in a dozen years. Now, it seems, we fans have to pay back that debt to the baseball gods, and those fuckers are sharks. The humiliation of last place is one hell of a vig.<br /><br />Anyway, there&#39;s always 2014.<br /><br />M.C. O'Connorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12258035192484655635noreply@blogger.com